Julie Taylor lives in a rural idyll in Okoroire, New Zealand. Her passion for books began at a young age, and she has always loved reading and writing fiction. She graduated Master of Arts with Honours in English Literature from the University of Auckland in 1990. Her other major enthusiasm is theatre. Julie teaches Speech and Drama and regularly performs and directs onstage. Julie has won writing competitions for short stories and plays. Art the Alien is her first children's picture book. Julie and the illustrator, Stephen de Jong, hope to create a series of exciting adventures for this lovable character.